1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to food plate service covers and, more particularly, to such covers which may be inexpensively produced of a plastic material, which engage a food plate to be covered in a non-sliding manner and which may have a food plate stably stacked thereon.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Food plate service covers are normally utilized in food service establishments in order to maintain food to be served at its proper temperature and, further, to permit the storage of a great number of platters prior to serving, such as in warmers. The latter use of food plate service covers normally requires the stacking of platters one upon the other to facilitate preparation and serving.
In the past, food plate service covers have conventionally been constructed of materials such as steel, fiberglass, or aluminum. Covers constructed of such materials have the disadvantage of being relatively heavy and expensive and, further, due to the relatively rigid nature of the materials, are subject to sliding relative to the plate. This relative sliding movement is extremely costly, as will be appreciated, in that when platters are stacked upon each other, the sliding of one can cause the toppling of the entire stack.
In the past, attempts have been made to utilize plastic materials for covers for food containers; however, such attempts have culminated only in the provision of covers which are essentially of only two dimensions, with the outer peripheral edge of the cover engaging an upstanding wall of the container. The application of such plastic materials to food plate service covers has been limited basically to applications where heating or cooling liquid is contained within the cover.
The development of a food plate service cover that is inexpensive and yet sufficiently sturdy to permit stacking of food plates has been impeded in that such service covers must be, of necessity, non-sliding relative to the plate, easy to remove, useful with plated of varying dimensions, and must provide sufficient heating and cooling insulation. The problems posed by varying dimensions of plates is particularly acute in that while a normal food plate utilized in a food service establishment is round and has a ten-inch diameter, the diameter often varies slightly and such variance of diameter has tendency to permit the food plate service cover to slide relative thereto.
Known covers having a substantial vertical dimension, such as those for use with cake plates, cannot be utilized as food plate service covers since they are normally not stackable and, further, since they are required to provide an airtight seal with the plate itself, whereas such a seal is not required by food plate service covers, and, as a matter of fact, is not desirable in that the service cover must be easily removable when the food is served.
It will be appreciated that while many covers of plastic resilient materials for food storage have been proposed in the past, such covers, in order to provide a snap, non-sliding engagement with a container, normally require special construction of a lip of the container. Of course, food plate service covers must be utilized with plates having varying edge configurations; and, therefore, the design of the service covers must be of a more general and universal nature. Thus, it can be seen that while a non-sliding fit is desirable, the construction of the service covers must permit use with plates of varying dimensions as well as facilitating removal of the service covers during serving.
A further problem which must be overcome in the provision of an inexpensive food plate service cover is that the food plate itself must be generally flat to facilitate access to the food carried thereon by a customer, and, accordingly, the service cover must be provided with side walls of substantial vertical dimensions to accommodate the food without touching the same and without limiting the normal amount of food to be carried by a plate. Accordingly, the side walls of the service covers must bear substantial weight when platters are stacked thereon, but cannot be overly bulky or rigid.